Centre Moves To Curb Exports Of Anti-Rabies Vaccine

NEW DELHI, 11 JULY 2019: After more than a year of shortages of anti-rabies vaccine, at least five states — Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — have called for measures to boost supplies, prompting the Centre to consider asking manufacturers to seek NOCs before exports.

 

While production of anti-rabies vaccines in India is in surplus of demand, over 30% of the production is exported to countries where they fetch a higher price, consequently causing a shortage in India.

 

“We have already asked companies to ramp up production and curtail exports. However, states are still reporting a shortage,” a senior official told TOI. To deal with the crisis, the Centre is looking to restrict exports by asking companies to seek a “no-objection” certificate from the drug regulator prior to exports, official sources said.

 

Meanwhile, the government is also expecting supplies to improve following acquisition of a multinational unit by a domestic company which manufactures the vaccine. “This company has already started production but it will take at least six months before the first batch hits the market,” the official said.

 

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), India is endemic for rabies accounting for 36% of the world’s deaths. While the exact burden of rabies in India is not fully known, estimates show it causes over 20,000 deaths every year – the highest in the world.

 

While one can develop the disease if bitten or scratched by a rabid mammal, such as a monkey or a bat, WHO says dogs contribute up to 99% of all rabies transmitted to humans and children are the usual victims.

 

In India, about 15 million people are bitten by animals, mostly dogs, every year. About 30-60% of reported rabies cases and deaths in India occur in children under the age of 15 years as bites often go unrecognised and unreported.

 

“There are about 1,20,000 cases of dog bite in a year and June, July & August are the peak months,” Satish Chandra, Punjab’s additional chief secretary said in a letter to health secretary Preeti Sudan last month. Chandra said there is an “acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine” in the state and asked the Centre to take up the matter with suppliers.

 

Though there are around five manufacturers of the vaccine in India including major drug makers like Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute and Indian Immunologicals, there is a 20-80% shortage in anti-rabies vaccines in almost all states.

 

Government estimates show the five companies together manufacture 50 million doses of anti-rabies vaccine in India against a demand of 48 million. However, with most of these vaccines going to other countries, hospitals and chemists across the country have been facing an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine for over a year now.

 

In India, the vaccine costs around Rs 300 in market. However, it is provided free of cost in government hospitals. Providing treatment to the victims, within 10 days of infection, is considered an effective way of protecting people. However, shortage of anti-rabies vaccine has raised concerns among both the medical fraternity as well as the government.The Times Of India